Broadway Baby Read online

The others burst out laughing. I went to smile but all that went up was my eyebrows. I sighed.

  Jelly snakes were the only things that would save me now. I dug some out of my bag and carried them outside.

  There was a garden near where Lucas had been playing on the monkey bars. It was bricked in and had overgrown bushes and twisty paths, and I followed them until I found a park bench under a eucalyptus tree.

  I undid the tie around the snakes packet. Inside was a folded-up piece of paper. I smoothed it out and found something written inside:

  We miss you, Broadway Baby! Have fun at rehearsals! Love P, R & A

  They must have snuck it in there at Silver Shoes when I hadn’t noticed.

  I held the note in my hand and struggled not to cry. If only Mary Poppins had an Ashley, or a Riley, or a Paige, it would be ten times more fun.

  A sherbet bomb dropped onto my head.

  ‘Huh?’ I stared at it lying in my lap. A girly giggle floated down from the leaves above me.

  I looked up.

  Cadence Kohdean was sitting up in the branches. You couldn’t have surprised me more if Jasmine had opened her mouth and said something nice.

  ‘Hello!’ said Cadence.

  ‘Hi,’ I managed to say.

  ‘Do you like climbing trees, Ellie?’ asked Cadence. She slithered down the trunk with more skill than her perfect clothes and pretty little hands suggested.

  ‘It’s okay,’ I said. ‘Not really my number one hobby. I wouldn’t have thought it was yours, either.’

  ‘Four brothers.’ Cadence giggled again, seating herself next to me. ‘They also taught me how to fart in my armpit!’ She clutched at my arm. ‘Don’t tell anyone, though.’

  ‘Um,’ I said, ‘it’s not really how I would start a conversation.’

  Not that I’ve managed to start one at all, anyway.

  ‘Oooh!’ Cadence squealed when she saw what was on my lap. ‘You’ve got snakes! Want to swap? Snakes are my next favourite after sherbet bombs.’ She waved the packet in front of my face.

  ‘Sure,’ I said, offering her mine. ‘The pink ones are the best. Not many companies make them.’

  Cadence happily helped herself to my snakes.

  ‘Thought you’d be more of a lollipop girl,’ I said.

  ‘Well, Ellie,’ said Cadence, her eyes sparkling, ‘there’s probably a lot of things you don’t know about me.’

  I looked down. ‘Probably,’ I said, trying not to picture Mum shaking her head at me and saying, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’. I guess I was a little guilty of that.

  Cadence playfully hit me with a snake. ‘I know they’re all totally crazy about musical theatre,’ she said, ‘but sometimes I just want to talk about pop music, you know? I mean, Taylor Swift’s new song …’

  ‘I love Taylor Swift!’ I blurted.

  Cadence clapped her hands and started singing ‘Shake it Off’ and I joined in. Our voices worked together quite well.

  I guess you can say that’s how I ended up finding out that Cadence Kohdean wasn’t so bad after all.

  Chapter Thirteen

  ‘Girls!’ I yelled, barrelling into technique class.

  Ashley, Riley and Paige turned around like I was a bowling ball and they were the pins I was about to strike.

  I flung myself at them and we all tumbled to the ground in a big heap.

  ‘Ellie!’ Paige protested, wriggling her way out from under a pile of salmon-coloured legs (technique tights are the worst). ‘Hey, you didn’t come round after school yesterday. Remember we were going to make candles?’

  ‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘I completely forgot. I went to the music store with Cadence.’

  Paige frowned. ‘Oh. I thought you didn’t like her.’

  ‘She’s okay.’ I shrugged. ‘I miss you guys, though! Mary Poppins isn’t the same without my girls!’ I ruffled Ashley’s hair. Her bangs were already falling out of her bun.

  ‘Ellie, how many jelly snakes have you had?’ she asked, trying to tidy up her fringe.

  ‘Here,’ said Paige, reaching to twist Ashley’s hair back. ‘I’ve got a spare bobby pin.’

  ‘Ugh,’ said Ashley. ‘My hair eats those like they’re jelly snakes.’

  ‘That’s why you do the braids, darling,’ said Riley in a fake posh voice, modelling the two, tight braids she always wears. ‘No bobby pins needed.’

  ‘Ugh,’ said Jasmine, who just so happened to walk by then with Tove, as always, half a step behind her. ‘Look, Tove, a pile of rubbish on the floor.’

  ‘Jasmine!’ gasped Ashley, jumping up in horror. ‘I’m so sorry! I heard you lost your personality but I didn’t believe the rumours until now!’

  Riley smirked but Paige, who hates fighting, looked down.

  I didn’t really feel like adding onto Ashley’s quip, although normally I would have. I thought, maybe, having spent the past couple of weeks being an outcast at Mary Poppins, that I understood a bit about what it was like to feel ganged up on. Also I thought maybe I had a better idea of why Jasmine was the way she was.

  Sometimes it’s better to be defensive than vulnerable.

  Miss Caroline clapped then to begin the class. I fell into the familiar rhythm of doing warm-ups that I’d done a million times before: flex and point, isolations, body rolls, leg kicks, tendus, splits. I was good at these things because I knew how to do them – I approached them with a confident attitude.

  Was that my problem at Mary Poppins? Maybe I wasn’t faking it till I was making it well enough and I needed to build up my confidence, because I’d definitely never lacked that before.

  Or maybe I had to believe I was right where I needed to be and deserved to be there as much as anyone else. It had just been such a long time since I’d really, really had to work at being the best, instead of it being natural. And if I didn’t get over myself and push myself, confidently, then I would never improve.

  We practised our turns next – first preps, then single turns, then double.

  ‘Go for the triple if you like,’ Miss Caroline called out. ‘Strong supporting leg, core engaged, arms sharp and shooting out or the momentum won’t take you round. Spot, spot, spot!’

  Then we divided into two groups to do travelling turns across the floor – port de bras single, port de bras double, port de bras triple.

  I decided to put my thoughts into action.

  Triple turns. I’d never managed to successfully complete a full one. But today was my day.

  I psyched myself up while Miss Caroline counted us in. Off Paige and I went. One two three, prepare, turn. No problems there. One two three, prepare, double turn. Paige fell out of it but BAM! my feet and face landed dead on. Paige stopped then but I barely noticed.

  My gaze was set straight ahead. Focus.

  Port de bras, prepare. Turn one … two … focus, Ellie, do everything that Miss Caroline said you should, don’t give up halfway through, push through, want it, know you can do it … three!

  My feet came together, I was facing the right way, and I wasn’t sprawled on my bum.

  My first triple turn!

  I heard Riley and Ash cheering from the corner.

  I knew, then. It may have been just a triple turn, but it was like I found the old Ellie somewhere in the middle of spinning and hurled her back into the world.

  And boy, was she glad to be back!

  Chapter Fourteen

  One chassé, chaîné, gallop, jeté! Perfect!

  One tuck jump, step through, arabesque. Beautiful!

  Turn, turn, turn, and split jump. Got it!

  ‘Yes!’ Billie called, jumping down from the stage where she was sitting. ‘Nailed it! My head just exploded from the greatness! Go have some water, my honeys! I love you all!’

  I went to retrieve my pink drink bottle with a spring in my step. My confidence from class at Silver Shoes had carried into my Mary Poppins rehearsal. I walked into it with a ‘positive mind’, and once my head was clear of being uncomfortable and shy, it w
as so much easier to believe in my ability to dance.

  ‘Ellie, you’re such a good dancer,’ Cadence sighed as I took a big swig from my water (Mum had added orange slices and berries in the bottom, and it was all kinds of delicious). ‘I was meant to be here learning my lines for Act One Scene Two,’ she continued, ‘but instead I’ve been watching you. The height you got on that jeté! I can only get that high in my dreams.’

  ‘Well, Cadence,’ I said, ‘your mind and heart can take you places even your body didn’t think you could go.’

  I don’t know where that came from, but I decided it made me sound really smart so I just shrugged and took another swig of water as if I said wise things like that all the time.

  ‘You’re going to be so famous, Ellie,’ said Cadence. ‘It will be, like, one minute you’re here and the next you’ve got your own headlining show on Broadway.’

  ‘Fabulous!’ I said, pulling out my packet of snakes and offering them to her. ‘I’ll still be able to see you, because you’ll have the starring role in Cats or Chicago or something.’

  ‘Cadence Kohdean and Eleanor Irvin, the “It” girls.’ Cadence giggled. ‘From the back streets of Bayside to the bright lights of Broadway!’ She pulled out a handful of snakes and wrinkled her nose. ‘Gosh,’ she said, ‘I so wish they would make these in pink.’

  ‘Yes!’ I exclaimed. ‘Cadence, are you me in another body?’

  ‘I hope so,’ said Cadence, ‘because I want to wear this!’ She touched the fluoro crop top and short set I was wearing (a bargain from the Dance Ahoy online shop, which I’d sneakily looked at when I was banned from the internet, and then convinced Mum to buy).

  After we were well gorged on snakes, sherbet bombs and the butterfly cupcakes Cadence’s mum had packed her, we moved on to the tap sequence for the main number in Act Two, ‘Step in Time’, which we’d learnt to sing the other day.

  I didn’t let any negative thoughts come into my head, and I went straight to the front of the group (still at the side, though, so I could watch others if I needed to). There would be no more hiding in the back for me!

  The dance started off easy and slow before building up to a bang, when the notes spilled out like they couldn’t hold back any longer. The choreography was basic toe punches and slaps and stomps to begin with, just punctuating the music. Easy enough, but I made sure my tapping was crisp and sharp, and that my rhythm was worthy of Gene Kelly. (Just in case you don’t know, Gene Kelly is a famous movie-star tapper. I know, because I’d spent three hours looking him up on YouTube last night. Oh yeah, while still being banned. But education waits for no one).

  Things quickly got more complicated though, but I stayed cool.

  Don’t think about it too much. Just watch Periwinkle’s feet, listen to the rhythm of his taps, and let your feet move how they naturally move to copy the sound.

  So when we had to do a time step, which involves brushes and shuffles and a transfer of weight on the feet, at first glance my mind went ‘eek!’, but then I broke it down and trusted my feet and suddenly I was doing the move like my name was Cadence Kohdean. My feet were making music!

  I felt like I’d broken through a barrier. Tap was quickly becoming one of my favourite styles of dance, although I would never turn my back on my beloved jazz.

  Billie, Periwinkle and the director asked to speak with me at the end of the day. Wham. I felt a force field of worry hit me. Was I fooling myself? Had I just made a joke out of my dancing? Were they going to tell me I wasn’t quite up to being in the musical?

  ‘Ellie, dear Ellie,’ said Periwinkle after rehearsal.

  ‘Yes?’ I gulped.

  ‘We’ve been keeping a close eye on all the dancers,’ said Periwinkle. ‘Especially today, because there are minor roles in some of the dances and scenes we haven’t filled yet.’

  ‘It will mainly be dancing parts,’ Billie said, smiling.

  ‘Yes,’ said the director. ‘There’s a doll in “Playing the Game”, a statue that comes to life in “Jolly Holiday”, and a small singing part for a girl in “Let’s Go Fly a Kite”.’

  I nodded. I’m sure my eyes were popping out of my head.

  ‘You’re quite the little dancer,’ said Periwinkle. ‘And Billie particularly sings your praises. You’ve got a very powerful voice, too.’

  ‘Really?’ I squeaked. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘There’s no missing you,’ joked the director. ‘So we’d like to give these few small roles to you. We can see you’d do a great job and are very dedicated.’

  My heart stopped. My breath was caught. I risked a look at Billie, who was wearing the proudest, silliest grin. I felt my own mouth start to split in half.

  It wasn’t quite the part of Jane. But it was a good start.

  ‘I’d love to!’ I exclaimed.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Well, as if my busy schedule wasn’t enough! At the next rehearsal the director had announced that the Bayside council was holding a fund-raising variety night and the cast of Mary Poppins were going to perform a number from the upcoming show.

  ‘A small taste of what’s to come,’ Periwinkle had added. ‘But not enough to give everything away. Leave ’em wanting more.’

  It was very exciting, of course. Any chance to perform on stage gets my blood pumping. But it also meant that we only had a couple of weeks to put together a number for the variety night.

  Extra rehearsals were called.

  ‘The number Billie and I have decided to do, in consultation with the director –’ Periwinkle flashed an oily smile her way that made me think he didn’t really like her (only ’cause I’ve flashed the same smile myself sometimes) ‘– is the number we’ve been working on, “Step In Time”. It’s the big musical piece of the show. We need the main cast, the chorus of tap dancers, and everyone else for the jazz movement in the background. It’s a very long song, so we’ll only do about five minutes of it.’

  ‘And I’m warning you now,’ Billie cut in, ‘that what I make up may change by the time it comes to the actual show run. I’m notorious for doing that.’

  ‘What’s notorious?’ asked one of the girls (a great dancer but her singing wouldn’t win her first place on The Voice, and I guess neither would her IQ). Cadence and I swapped an amused glance and it was almost like I was back with Ash, Riley and Paige at Silver Shoes.

  Notorious, of course, means that you are well-known, not always in a positive way (ahem, not that I had to google it or anything).

  As soon as I knew a performance was involved and I was going to be on stage and in my natural element, I felt the stage blood in my veins go fizzy. I had the beans; I couldn’t wait to start.

  First we had to get the singing out of the way – and I’m talking a whole morning of it. Lucky the song was catchy and had a lot of harmonies and dynamics, or I would have fallen asleep and dribbled all over Cadence’s designer dance tights.

  The song featured Bert the chimney sweep and Mary Poppins as the main singers, with Jane and her brother supporting them, and then the chorus joining in, either as chimney sweeps (the tap troupe) or villagers (the adults).

  The song began with these piano chords that you knew were going to build up to something big. Bert sang first, and then the chorus joined in after him, before everyone launched into the next verse together.

  I know it might sound simple, but when the chorus came in, with the younger voices of the chimney sweeps, and then the more adult voices rounding them out and softly coming in over them, it sounded like a gospel choir. Shivers ran up my spine. The mix of voices kept building, building, building, until I thought my heart would burst as it soared with the beautiful sound everyone made when they sang as one.

  It really was like magic.

  At lunch break Cadence and I were sitting on the steps out the front of the hall laughing about it. We talked over each other in our excitement, and tried to chuck pieces of snake into each other’s mouths, all at the same time.

  I was having so mu
ch fun with Cadence, I almost couldn’t believe I once thought she’d been a prissy goody-goody.

  That was when Riley and Paige came out from the side door of Silver Shoes and headed towards us.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ‘Hi Ellie,’ said Paige, beaming my way. She paused a couple of steps in front of me, and Riley stopped a step or so behind her, in what I call her ‘Riley’ pose: standing back on one leg, arms crossed, sussing out the situation.

  We usually have lyrical on Saturday mornings, you see, although Billie had pulled a few strings so I could miss it just while we were having these extra rehearsals.

  ‘Hi guys,’ I said. ‘How was lyrical?’

  Paige darted a quick look at Cadence, while Riley made it obvious she was checking Cadence out. Cadence, for her part, was smiling prettily and warmly, giving Paige a run for her money in the innocent department.

  ‘We started the dance for “Say Something” today,’ Paige said. ‘But don’t worry, I’ll catch you up if you like.’ She zipped another quick look at Cadence before she held out a packet of snakes. ‘We brought you some snakes in case you were hungry.’

  I looked down at the parade of snake parts on the steps, and the packet of sherbet bombs open between me and Cadence.

  ‘Oh!’ I said. ‘Thanks, Paige, but I think we may have had enough sugar already!’

  Cadence giggled.

  ‘Right,’ said Paige, folding up the packet and taking a step back closer to Riley. ‘That’s okay. Maybe next time.’

  ‘I’ll have some,’ said Riley, snatching the packet from Paige and making a point of choosing one. ‘Thank you, Paige.’ She chewed on a red snake and turned her eyes to Cadence. ‘Hi,’ she said. ‘Who are you?’

  Cadence jumped up. ‘Hello!’ She dashed forward to give a dainty hug to Riley (who almost choked on her snake) and then did the same to Paige (who flinched like Cadence had thrown the whole packet at her). ‘I’m Cadence Kohdean, Ellie’s friend from Mary Poppins. You must be … hmm … Paige and Riley! Ellie talks about you all the time! She just loves Silver Shoes.’